The Steelers obviously have big plans for Derrick Harmon, their 2025 first-round draft pick. Mike DeFabo revealed a part of it. In naming him the Steelers’ breakout candidate for 2026, the veteran beat writer dropped an interesting little nugget. While not surprising, it adds to the overall picture about how they envision him.
Pittsburgh pretty much pigeonholed itself into a defensive lineman in first round last year. The Steelers reportedly had three names at the top of their list, and Derrick Harmon was the one who made it to them. He may have even been their first choice, for all we know. But even after an encouraging rookie season, they’re not leaving anything up to chance. Especially for one area of his game.
“The Steelers plan to have Harmon spend time in training camp working with new OLBs coach C.J. Ah You to add more moves to the DT’s pass-rush repertoire and improve upon his three-sack rookie season”, DeFabo wrote in his breakdown of the second-year man on why he is Pittsburgh’s best breakout candidate for the 2026 season.
Derrick Harmon suffered multiple knee injuries as a rookie, including one in the preseason. The first injury caused him to miss the first two games of the season, and he later missed three more. In light of that, it arguably makes his rookie season that much more impressive. If he can stay healthy, he does have the capability to develop into a top player at his position.
The Steelers were drawn to his athleticism, but Harmon also proved up to the task of run defense. In fact, they fared much better last season when he was on the field in comparison to the periods during his injuries.
But he still clearly has untapped potential, and the Steelers mean to tap it. Derrick Harmon will also have the benefit of learning from Cam Heyward, for perhaps the next two years. But he also has an inexperienced position coach in Domata Peko. While he played defensive line in the NFL for many years, he was not a pass rusher.
That might be part of the reason the Steelers want their outside linebackers coach working with Harmon this summer on his pass-rushing moves. In recent years, Pittsburgh has had its edge rushers working with the defensive line, so why not vice-versa? And I’m sure this is not the first time that positions intermingled on the coaching front.
Of course, Ah You is also inexperienced as a coach, at least in the NFL. In fact, this is his first season at this level, having spent 11 years coaching in college—and the XFL. He did have a brief NFL career. But the Steelers hope that Derrick Harmon has a much, much longer one. And they hope that he can bring a spark to the pass rush, both now and after Heyward retires.